Washington taps Israeli stockpiles as Europe piles Patriots into Ukraine; Australia buys American.

(Originally published Jan. 18 in “What in the World“) Russia detailed plans to boost the size of its army 30% to 1.5 million troops, from 1.15 million.

Ukraine is warning that Moscow plans a major offensive and is begging for more advanced Western weapons to repel it. And now the Netherlands is considering joining Germany and the United States in sending a Patriot anti-missile defense battery to Ukraine.

But with the war in Ukraine rapidly depleting both Russian and Western supplies of ammunition and arms makers still scrambling to catch up, Washington has been dipping into its little known stockpile of ammo in Israel and shipping it Ukraine via Poland. That follows a move by both sides to secure additional ammunition from the bristling nations of North and South Korea.

In the Pacific, meanwhile, Australia will pay nearly $2 billion for 40 U.S. UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to replace its fleet of ageing European Taipan helicopters. Australia sparked French ire in 2021 by scrapping a submarine purchase deal in favor of buying subs from the United Kingdom and the U.S.